•The first phase of the Sh6 billion Buxton housing project is expected to be completed by June this year.
•He hailed the ongoing works at the Buxton Housing project.
Image: FILE
The Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga has underscored the government's commitment to the delivery of affordable houses to Kenyans.
Currently, some 565,000 affordable housing units across the country valued at Sh2.8 trillion have been registered to the National Construction Authority.
Hinga said, so far, about 225,000 had received approval and were in various stages of implementation.
He faulted those opposing some of the ongoing affordable housing projects in the country, saying those individuals who had gone to court to stop some of the projects do not act in the interest of the beneficiaries, who are the citizens, but rather have their selfish interest.
He called on the citizens to shun such people.
"For those running to court to try and stop these kinds of projects, it does not make sense. You don’t represent us, you don’t represent the majority, you are representing your selfish interest,” said Hinga.
He was speaking in Mombasa on Monday afternoon after touring the Sh6 billion Buxton housing project.
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by June this year.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to commission the first 582 units, and priority will be given to the initial tenants of the old Buxton Estate.
Hinga was accompanied by the project contactor businessman Suleiman Shahbal and Buxton Housing Project CEO Ahmed Badhawi.
He hailed the ongoing works at the Buxton Housing project, saying that it is going to bring back dignity to poor Kenyans who can not afford to buy modern housing units.
He expressed his satisfaction with all the social amenities to be included in the houses once the project is completed by June next year, saying that such can only be found in high end expensive gated community houses.
Some of the social amenities include a clubhouse, swimming pool, hospital, commercial facilities, a courtyard, green spaces, among others.“Affordable housing is not synonymous with poor quality, affordable housing is high quality but at a pocket-friendly price,” said Hinga.
The PS called on local developers to visit the project for benchmarking and replicate the same in their various projects.“The benchmark has been set. We cannot go backwards. You can only improve on what we have seen here,” he said.
The PS revealed that the government is also planning to partner with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and the National Housing Corporation to provide Kenyans in informal settlements with a tenant purchase scheme.
He said that the mortgage interest rate had been reduced to 9 per cent to enable more Kenyans to become homeowners.
“National Housing Corporation is one of the institutions that provide tenant purchase scheme, NSSF also has money invested in bonds. We have agreed that we shall purchase a certain number of units, and we shall start providing the tenant purchase scheme,” he said.
He further revealed that the government was targeting to purchase several one-bedroom units that will be offered to residents working in the informal sector at an interest rate of 3 per cent.
Shahbal said they are looking forward to changing the face of Mombasa.
“Our philosophy is simple, we are selling a lifestyle and giving the people of Mombasa an indication of what a new Mombasa should look like, " he said.